e manner. On the other hand, the climate is so mild that the want
of a house is scarcely felt, and a temporary residence easily constructed.
On the whole I am convinced, that a man who regulates his conduct by
prudence, and who perseveringly follows up his occupations, who behaves
with kindness to those around him, and performs his social and moral
duties with punctuality, will ultimately secure to himself a home that
will make up for the one he has quitted in the land of his fathers, and
place him in as respectable and as happy a situation as that which he
there enjoyed.

*****

PROGRESS OF INLAND DISCOVERY.

Having thrown out the foregoing remarks for the information of the general
reader, and of persons who look to Australia with the more earnest views
of selecting a colonial home, I now return to the immediate object of
these volumes; but before entering on the narrative of my own expeditions,
I think it necessary to advert cursorily to the discoveries previously
accomplished.

The journeys of Mr. Oxley, far into the western interior of Australia,
gave rise to various and conflicting opinions as to the character of the
more central parts of that extensive continent, of which the colony of New
South Wales forms but a small portion. I feel, therefore, called upon
briefly to advert to the conclusions which that able and intelligent
officer drew from his personal observation of the country into which he
penetrated, as an acquaintance with his opinions will not only tend to
throw a clearer light on the following details, but will, also, convey
much necessary information to those of my readers who may not have
perused his journals. It is necessary, however, in order to divest the
subject of all obscureness, to trace, in the first instance, the progress
of inland discovery, in New South Wales, from the first foundation of the
colony to the period when Mr. Oxley's exertions attracted the public
attention.

In the year 1788, the British Government took formal possession of the
eastern coast of Australia, by the establishment of a penal colony at Port
Jackson. The first settlers, under Governor Phillips, had too many
difficulties to contend with to submit themselves to be thwarted from
pursuits essential to their immediate safety and comfort, by the prospect
of remote and uncertain advantages. It was by perseverance and toil alone
that they first established and ultimately spread themselves over that
part of the ter